Three exclusive items are included in the special $9.99USD Kits Bundle.
For the first time ever The Sims Team has decided to do an exclusive Items drop within a Kits release. That’s right, it’s not just enough that there are two branded Sims 4 Kits – there’s also a limited-time bundle called The Sims 4 Bikini Bottom Bundle. If you get the Bundle anywhere from now until March 6th, 2026 you’ll get access to an exclusive $9.99USD savings deal price, along with three objects.
Here’s an overview of the new items that you get with The Sims 4 Bikini Bottom Bundle. And for a disclaimer, it seems that there’s already a glitch / bug within the Kits Bundle where none of the three items have a correct price for purchase in Build Mode. All 3 of them cost 0 Simoleons. Pretty sure that wasn’t intentional…
The Goofy Goober Guitar
There are six different variants of the Goofy Goober Guitar to choose from. It acts like a regular Sims 4 Guitar meaning there’s no special effects or interactions. Only a break from the Simlish universe immersion with the “GG” letters on the guitar handle…
Conch Street Aquarium
Probably my favorite out of the three Sims 4 Bikini Bottom exclusive objects. There’s a cute water effect across the aquarium glass being displayed, three iconic houses from SpongeBob at the center of aquarium and water plants and corals similar to the ones from the TV show. Just like regular aquariums, you can purchase fish for it or place your own from the inventory.
There’s also a cool book underneath the aquarium hinting at a secret Krabby Patty recipe. It’s just for decoration though.
There are 10 total variants for this aquarium, including:
The Flying Dutchman’s Jungle Gym
We really needed another jungle gym in The Sims 4, didn’t we? Although I have to give some credit that the main object variant resembles the actual TV show’s flying pirate ship with its eerie green glow effect.
One thing I disliked is that all variants include SpongeBob in the back of the ship with no way to detach him from the boat. He’s just standing there inanimately.
That’s all there is to the exclusive objects within The Sims 4 Bikini Bottom Bundle of Kits. What are your thoughts on the three exclusive items?
Stay tuned on Sims Community for a full review of the two new Kits coming very soon!
The surprising collaboration has arrived to digital storefronts!
Simmers worldwide were surprised to find out about The Sims 4 SpongeBob Kits announced two days ago. Done in collaboration between the Nickelodeon TV Network and Maxis / EA, the two new Kits bring new furniture, exterior items and CAS fashion inspired by the iconic SpongeBob TV cartoon.
Today, players can get the two new Kits for $6.99USD each, which is different from the regular $4.99USD Kit asking price. My assumption is that the additional two dollars will be going to Nickelodeon for the licensing fees. If you plan to get both The Sims 4 SpongeBob Kits there’s an exclusive The Sims 4 Bikini Bottom Bundle that includes two Kits and three exclusive items for the price of $9.99USD, or a price equivalent to your local currency.
The exclusive Bikini Bottom Bundle offer will be available for a limited time until March 3rd, 2026. Which would be the last day for you to get the hands on the exclusive three items as well.
Down below we’ve listed all the Sims 4 SpongeBob Kits offers, stores from where you can get the Kits and official features. Including a first thumbnail preview of all items included within the Kits!
Table of Contents
The Sims 4 SpongeBob’s House Kit
Official Features
Create your own iconic pineapple home with nautical décor from The Sims™ 4 SpongeBob’s House Kit*. Snag yourself a collection of knickknacks and furniture pulled straight from the cartoon – like SpongeBob’s diver helmet tv and fog horn alarm clock – and help your Sims get in touch with their spongy sides.
A pineapple is technically a berry, and your house can be too! Use siding, a roof pattern, and spikey leaves to create a home fit for your quirkiest Sims. You can even use a sand-like floor tile to give your home an “under the sea” feeling.
Fill your space with objects straight out of Bikini Bottom. There’s furniture made from floaties or salvaged from ships, a peculiar plant, nautical knickknacks, and more including doors, a window, and new wallpapers with a variety of swatches pulled right from SpongeBob’s living room.
Decorate a bedroom with furniture inspired by the iconic cartoon with The Sims™ 4 SpongeBob Kid’s Room Kit*. If nautical nonsense be something you wish, you can fill the room with toys and cozy outfits that celebrate all things SpongeBob.
Plaster the walls with decals of your favorite characters, including SpongeBob and Patrick! There are toys, like a dollhouse replica of The Krusty Krab, plus pineapple furniture including a dresser and bookshelf ! It’s a collection that’ll make even the sourest squid smile.
Display your love of SpongeBob with comfy clothes! There’s a t-shirt, pjs, and you’ll feel especially snuggly in slippers that look like SpongeBob, or his friends. Take your favorite character wherever you go!
Jam on the Goofy Goober Guitar, add quirky fun to your space with the Conch Street Aquarium, and host playdates on The Flying Dutchman’s Jungle Gym. This bundle, and all three exclusive items, are available for a limited time only.
Do you plan on getting the new Sims 4 SpongeBob Kits? Let us know in the comments down below and stay tuned on Sims Community for full reviews on the new Sims 4 Kits!
An official Blog release from The Sims Team elaborates on how you can improve your The Sims 4 performance.
You might have an up-to-date game with everything working properly and no issues with conflicting Mods / CC, but The Sims 4 lag issues might still persist even if you’re doing everything right. And no, we’re not talking about the Simulation Lag that the development team has been tackling for years now.
A couple of days ago The Sims Team released an official blog talking about The Sims 4 Lag Issues and what might be causing them. Ranging anywhere from long playtime sessions that result in high Sim count of played Sims to tiny things like mirrors being placed one across another. Causing a double reflection and double the graphics usage power.
As The Sims 4 development team continues to bring new fixes with updates and performance solutions through Memory Boost, they also want to let you know about things you should consider doing on your end to make the experience as smooth as possible.
Read it all in their Dag Dag to Lag post below:
The Sims 4 Lag Issues: Official Causes and Solutions
Alongside our ongoing efforts to bring you closer to what we’re working on with our save file investigations and Quality of Life roadmap, we wanted to take a moment to share some behind-the-scenes info about how we make The Sims 4 the best experience it can be for everyone. Our team puts love and care into each pack and update we create, running meticulous performance tests to ensure they run smoothly on across many platforms, including min-spec machines.
Here’s the fun part – we’ve learned a lot from our QA testing that can help you make the most of your game! We have advice on how you can build, utilize cheats, and experience the game in more performant ways. This is important information for all players, but especially those who may be exceeding hardware limitations and heavily utilizing in game systems as this increases the chances of resulting in error codes, lots failing to load, or other memory related issues. Read on to learn more!
Signs That Indicate You Should Make These Changes
You may want to make these changes in your game when you see things like long loading times, various error codes when saving or loading your game like ‘Error Code 140:95e2d14f’ ‘Error Code 34’, etc. or when you experience lagging and freezing in either Build/Buy or Live Mode. If you can hear your computer struggling, it’s probably time to take some of the steps below.
Technical Explanation on Performance
Beyond your computer’s hardware, two main things affect how well The Sims 4 runs:
How much the game has to draw on screen.
How many interactive objects are in play.
Every visible object, piece of furniture, or part of the environment takes power to display. The more the game has to show at once (like nearby lots or heavily decorated builds) the more your computer has to work.
Similarly, each object that Sims can use (like stoves or sinks) takes processing power, even when not being used. The more complex or versatile an object is, the more it impacts performance. For example, kitchen counters are surprisingly heavy on performance because Sims can do so much with them.
Performant Lot Building Best Practices
There’s no “one way” to build a lot, but if you’re ever curious on how you can build a more performant lot, here are some helpful tips and guidelines:
Wallpapers – Multiple types of wallpaper on a Lot will impact performance more, especially wallpapers with edges.
Mirrors – Multiple mirrors in a single room will impact performance if their reflections are bouncing off each other.
Doors that have glass, transoms, or sidelights will impact performance more. The more of these a door has the more impact it has.
“Portal” Objects – Portal objects are any object that transitions a Sim from one room/level to another. Large numbers of portal objects increase Sim routing time. Portal objects include doors, arches, fence gates, platforms, ladders, stairs, and more. The more portal objects a Sim must traverse to get somewhere the more performance is impacted.
Pools and Platforms – Platforms are much like pools as Sims can get in and get out of a pool or traverse a platform at any location, so they have a lot of portals! The larger the pool or platform, the more portals. The smaller the pool or platform is, the more performant it is.
Note: Fountains are quite performant, because you can’t get in or out of them.
Fridges and computers – These have high simulation costs because they have so many interactions. Kitchen counters are an additional example due to the amount of hidden autonomous interactions available when using them.
The more unique items used on a lot, the higher impact on performance. Clutter, lots of different pictures, lots of carpets, window types, light types, plants, etc. all add up.
Ponds – The larger and more complex a pond is, the less performant it is. Small ponds with simple shapes are very performant. Large ponds with irregular shapes are less performant.
Small ponds are about 8 x 8 tiles.
Large ponds are about 19 x 19 tiles.
“Simple” means smoother edges and simpler shapes like an oval or circle.
Number of Sims – Be mindful of the number of Sims on screen at any given time. The more active Sims in a lot, the less performant your game will become as more resources are used.
Large Lots – Whether a lot is big or small it has the same object budget. If you are building a large lot and want to keep it performant, our tip is to try to find a way to fill it in using creative object placement that isn’t dense or tile designs. Decorations cannot be as dense as they can on a small lot.
Occluders and Visible Objects – When you load a lot with other lots around it, objects inside buildings on the other lots aren’t visible. This is because the solid walls of the building act as “occluders.” If these objects are placed outside of the house walls then there is nothing to occlude them when loaded into another lot and the game has to draw them, which can result in a dip in performance. Most games work this way! Glass Walls, large Glass Windows, Glass Roofs also do not act as occluders because you can see what’s happening behind them. Seeing objects when loaded into another lot isn’t problematic, unless a nearby lot is very full with objects.
Cheats are another performance variable to consider. Remember that cheats can impact your gameplay negatively if your specs aren’t high enough, and it’s always best practice to backup your saves before trying any cheats, especially those that remove restrictions.
Things that Will Affect Your Memory and Performance and Might Result in Bugs if Overutilized:
There are many tools The Sims 4 provides the player to enhance creative options! We don’t know your exact software, however, and overutilizing these tools can result in poor performance, or memory issues (like corruption or failure to load issues). Mods are another aspect to consider when playing performantly as we can’t account for their resource costs when developing content for The Sims 4 as they are developed and maintained by the community. Please use these tools at your own risk and responsibly. These are also cumulative. Meaning, if you are doing all of these, then that adds up. That’s why sometimes bugs around crashes, freezes, and failing to load things can be difficult on our end to investigate – each one can be very dependent on how it came about.
Graphics Settings
The best practice is to be aware of your settings in relation to your system’s capabilities and don’t increase Graphics Settings beyond your system’s limitations. On PC and Mac, The Sims 4 has a benchmarking system where the game automatically optimizes graphics settings on first launch and allows the player to adjust. Exceeding the determined graphics settings can cause performance issues on lower spec systems.
Build Cheats like vertical move cheats, scale cheats, or bb.moveobjects.
These move cheats alter the navmesh (what Sims use to know where they’re going) and make it more complex. When this happens, the game has to do extra calculations which takes up extra performance and memory. Doing this a handful of times is normally perfectly fine, but if you have a Lot where this is happening hundreds and hundreds of times, that can be very hard on most computers.
Using the bb.showliveeditobjects Cheat
When we ship objects in a pack (the ones you can find normally in Build Mode or as rewards for gameplay), we have built and tested those objects to be performant. If you use LiveEditModeObjects, these objects are not performant when player-placed. Placing a handful of these items on computers with capable hardware is perfectly fine! This is why we wanted to provide this cheat as an option to you. However, if overused or if used by lower spec hardware this could cause a lot of memory and performance issues. This also applies to laying multiple objects together.
Maximum Sim Count Game Options
This is an option in the Household Manager menu. By default this is set to 80 Sims for played Households in a Save. This is best for players with Min Spec computers (and honestly healthiest for all computers). However, Mid to High End computers can reasonably upgrade to 150 Max Sims.
Choosing the 200 or Unlimited options are things we’ve given you the option to do, but are not recommended in most instances. Please do this at your own risk.
Super Stuffed Lots
How much you can pack into your lots really depends on your specific hardware. If you fill every lot to the brim (and skip the performance tips here), you run a higher risk of encountering slower performance, crashes, or other issues. There’s no single “right” amount as every setup is different. If you find that you can build Lots with full, detailed spaces and your hardware can handle it, great! The key is finding a good balance that keeps your game running smoothly.
Have Too Many Farm Animals
Chickens, Mini Goats, and critters like these are super cute! However, depending on your hardware, having too many (not 10-15, but in the 30-100+ range) can cause the game to lag heavily, though we have made changes to try to decrease the effects of this.
Mods that Allow Increased Sim Cap Limits
We have a limit on how many Sims can appear at a time in a neighborhood for performance reasons. If you increase this using Mods, this is happening at your own risk and can greatly impact performance and memory.
Screenshots Folder, Custom Music, Mods
The more content you have in these folders, the more content that needs to be loaded and run. Having an overabundance of content on certain hardware specs can result in performance and memory issues. This is particularly relevant to mods, as much we love them!
Running Other Apps and Programs
Having other resource-heavy programs running on your computer while playing The Sims 4 can impact performance. Closing those extra apps can free up resources and make your game run more smoothly, so your Sims can thrive without any hiccups.
You can easily see any programs that are configured to start running as soon as your computer does for Windows here, and here for Mac.
Other Instances
There are probably other ways a game can become inefficient and have memory issues based uniquely on how it is played. As always, the best advice is to create judiciously based on your computer hardware, listen to the game (if it starts chugging, or your cooling fans start ramping up, it isn’t happy), and follow a “moderation” is key approach. These things above aren’t off limits! But should never be overdone.
Ultimately, The Sims 4 offers an incredible range of creative possibilities, and we love seeing the unique worlds you build and stories you tell. However, every creative choice comes with a performance cost, and understanding those limits helps ensure your game stays fun and stable. By balancing creativity with moderation and keeping your hardware in mind, you’ll enjoy smoother gameplay and fewer headaches, crashes, and load times.
Have you tried all of these solutions to make The Sims 4 lag issues go away from your playtime sessions? Let us know in the comments down below and if the issues still persist, make sure you let the team know in The Sims 4 Bug Reports.
Are you looking for more ways to bring grade school to life in The Sims 4? Then it’s time to create your own after-school activities with the combination of Getaways from The Sims 4: Adventure Awaits and The Sims 4: High School Years gameplay!
Table of Contents
School-related Getaways
The Sims 4: High School Years brought more interactive gameplay for our Teen Sims, but it stops there, in my opinion. The Sims world has been lacking ways for Sims of other ages to interact with their local schools. With the custom getaways feature from The Sims 4: Adventure Awaits, Sims of all ages now have a place at school.
PTA Meetings
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) events are common for parents of elementary school-aged children, giving them the opportunity to voice opinions and vote for school changes, so why not give our Sims the chance to take part? Using the Custom Getaways scheduler from The Sims 4: Adventure Awaits and the Auditorium from The Sims 4: High School Years, you can schedule recurring PTA meetings for your concerned parents to attend.
Membership Roles
For my gameplay, I used CustomGetaways to create two roles: PTA President and PTA Parents. To create the stereotypical PTA President (and channel the ladies from Desperate Housewives), I added the following requirements: Ages are restricted to Young Adults and Adults. Personality Traits are restricted to Family-Oriented, Competitive, Good, Idealist, Insider, Materialistic, Overachiever, Outgoing, Perfectionist, and Self-Assured. I also added a custom outfit.
When it came to the PTA Parents, I required the following: Ages are restricted to Young Adult, Adult, and Elder. The Skill Level 2+ category is restricted to the Parenting Skill. While there is a Watch Live Entertainment activity, it doesn’t include the Podium, so I didn’t add any Role Activities.
I added the Everyday Outfit requirement to prevent any Townies from showing up in a ball gown or swimsuit out of nowhere. Ideally, I would have been able to add a requirement restricting access to Sims who are parents, but that option does not currently exist.
PTA Getaways Schedule
Now, it’s time to plan the schedule. I restricted the event to only two time slots: 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
For the first time slot, I added Give Speech as the main activity, gave the Give Speech activity to the PTA President Role, and then ensured the PTA Parents were each given the Free Time activity. The Free Time activity states, “During Free Time, Sims will behave as they normally would, guided by their everyday autonomy.” so, hopefully, Sims will sit and listen to the speech as they would in other Sims situations.
For the second time slot, I made Debate the main activity to resemble the Q&A section that tends to happen during PTA meetings. I ensured both roles have Debate as their activity and added Drink Tea to give Sims an option to get up and move if the conversation gets too heated for their liking.
Using the House of Grudges Rule with the PTA President selected, I chose the Auditorium as the venue and set this as a recurring event for Wednesday evenings.
School Dances
The Sims 4: High School Years brings Prom to The Sims world, but our Teens deserve more! That’s where custom getaways from The Sims 4: Adventure Awaits come into play.
Roles
To staff my School Dances and make sure the right Sims join, I used the premade DJ and Teachers roles. Additionally, I created custom roles for High Schoolers, Chaperones, and School Janitors.
When it came to the premade roles, I didn’t adjust the DJ role, but I did remove the Care for Infants and Toddlers activity and require a Formal outfit for the premade Teacher role.
For High Schoolers, I required them to be Teens and to wear a Formal outfit. I added Dance along with Mix and Mingle as the activities to make sure Teen Sims focus on partying. Chaperones are restricted to Sims ages Young Adult and older with Formal outfits. I chose to add Parenting for Skill Level 2+ and the Personality Traits of Nosy and Party Animal as recommended, but not required.
School Janitors are necessary for any school activity, and thank goodness for them! I restricted my School Janitor role to ages Young Adult+ and the Neat Personality Trait. I gave them a custom outfit and added the following activities: Clean, Do Home Chores, and Fix Objects.
Dance Schedule
There aren’t many activities related to an organized dance, like Vote for a Sim or Ask a Sim to dance, so I added two Time Slots with Dance as the main activity. To weave in more of the high school vibe, I added the Eat Popcorn and Drink Ranch Nectar activities to the High Schoolers role during the second time slot. In my mind, this simulates the beginning of the “after party” for the Teens.
After-School Daycare
Do you remember the days of playing tag in your school uniform and sitting on the floor with your friends to work on your homework while your parents finished up the workday? With the custom getaways feature, you can bring these classic childhood experiences into The Sims 4!
Daycare Roles
Thinking about my days in after-school daycare, the first thing that comes to mind is chaos. There weren’t many rules to follow or scheduled activities, aside from have fun and try not to get hurt. Keeping that in mind, I used the two premade roles of Teacher and Child.
To customize the Teacher role further, I removed the Care for Infants and Toddlers activity and added the Mentor activity. I also added the Arts and Music, Battle with Voidcritters, Play with Toys, Play on Playground Equipment, and Play Marbles activities to the Child role.
Scheduling
I added two time slots for after-school daycare, 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM. For the first time slot, I added Arts and Music as the main activity, encouraging Children to build creative skills through different artistic and musical activities. The second time slot has Build Child Skills as the main activity. I did not adjust any of the role activities for these time slots.
Science Fairs
Fairgoers Roles
To make sure the right Sims attend the Science Fair, I created three roles: Science Kid, Science Parent, and Science Teachers. For the Science Kid role, I required the following: Personality Traits are restricted to Ambitious, Bookworm, Competitive, Geek, Genius, Overachiever, Perfectionist, Practice Makes Perfect. Age is restricted to Child. The Skill Levels 2+ category is restricted to Mental. I added a custom outfit and set the Activities to Use Science Table, Build Mental Skill, and Stay Near Household Sims.
Science Parents are restricted by the Ages Young Adult, Adult, and Elder. The Skill Level 2+ category is restricted to Parenting, and the Activity is Stay Near Household Sim.
Science Teachers are not required to, but encouraged to have a Career in Education. The required Skills Level 2+ are Archaeology, Gemology, Logic, Parenting, Programming, Robotics, and Rocket Science. For Activities, Science Teachers are required to Be Friendly, Care and Mentor Children. I customized their outfits.
Science Fair Custom Getaways Schedule
For Science Fair getaways, I created two time slots: 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM, taking place on Saturdays.
The first main activity is Use the Science Table at 10:00 AM, then everyone has to Attend Lectures at 1:00 PM. I planned the time slots to simulate kids showing off their inventions by using the Science Table and then talking about what everyone learned by attending lectures.
More Getaways & Ideas
The Sims 4: Adventure Awaits, combined with The Sims 4: High School Years, offers endless new possible getaways. You could use these two Expansion Packs to create other school-related events like:
Detention
Study Hall
Cheerleading Competitions
Fundraisers
Kindergarten, Elementary, and Middle School Graduations
Meet the Teacher Night
Talent Shows
& so much more!
Are there any other after-school activities you’re looking forward to creating with The Sims 4: Adventure Awaits Custom Getaways and The Sims 4: High School Years? Let us know in the comments below!
Check Out The Brand New CAS And BB In The Sims 4 Deck the Palms Rewards
A new Live Event is coming to The Sims 4 in the form of the ‘Deck the Palms’ Event. This event will take place over three weeks, and players will have from December 16th to January 13th to claim all the new reward items from Jasmine Holiday! Thanks to modder LunarBritney on Mod The Sims, we can unlock all the items early, and without having to complete the event. Let’s take a look at The Sims 4 Deck the Palms rewards!
Table of Contents
Create-A-Sim
Slightly Fuzzy Earmuffs
Slightly Fuzzy Mountain Boots
Slightly Fuzzy Mittens
Bikini Bottom Hoodie
Holiday in Sulani Button Up
Creature Comforts Pet Hoodie (Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack)
Build/Buy
Naturescapes Magnet Board
Deck the Palms Event Magnets
Playful Dolphin Magnet
Stellar Spaceship Magnet
Frosty Snowman Magnet
Chilly Days Magnet
Cutest Kiwi Magnet
Pointiest Dino Magnet
Happy Home Mailbox
Festive Fronds Palm Tree
Serious Business Ticket Machine (Business & Hobby Expansion Pack)
My Little Void Critter Toddler Slide
My Big Voidcritter Child Slide (Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack)
Undersea Phone
Littlest Neighbourhood Library
New Recipe: Krabby Patties
Deck the Palms Event Items Unlocked Mod
The ‘Deck the Palms Event Items Unlocked’ Mod by LunarBritney on Mod The Sims allows you to play with all these new items early! You can filter by Event Reward items by going to ‘Filters > Special > Event Rewards’ in both CAS and Build/Buy modes. Check out the mode below
What are your thoughts on The Sims 4 Deck the Palms Rewards? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to Sims Community for all the latest on Live Event.
A new report breaks down the split in ownership of the three new investment companies.
A new report about the EA buyout has surfaced this week from Wall Street Journal. Elaborating on the ownership percentages from the three new investment companies that announced their purchase in late September 2025.
Even though the Press Release stated that three companies including Jared Kushner’s Affinity Group, Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund and Silver Lake are buying the company together for $55 billion dollars, the stakes of ownership are dramatically different when laid down in percentages.
WSJ reports that the biggest share of Electronic Arts will be in ownership of Saudi Arabia’s PIF at a staggering 93.4%. Silver Lake will own 5.5% while Jared Kushner’s Affinity Group will only have 1.1% of the company. Making it just enough for him to be used as a pawn in ensuring the deal goes through within government officials.
The consortium didn’t disclose the planned ownership breakdown. But a November filing with Brazil’s antitrust regulator shows PIF would own 93.4% of EA, while Silver Lake and Affinity would own 5.5% and 1.1% respectively. That puts the onus on PIF to fund almost all of the deal.
– The Wall Street Journal
It’s been reported that an official EA shareholders vote will take place at the end of December 2025 to conclude if the buyout can be given a green light or not.
Meanwhile, a new investigation from Kaskela Law LLC law firm has been announced on December 1st about a new investigation being done to determine whether the buyout will be done in fair interest to its shareholders. Here’s the full press release:
Kaskela Law LLC is investigating the recently announced proposed buyout of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) (“EA” or the “Company”) shareholders to determine whether the buyout agreement is fair to the Company’s investors.
On September 29, 2025, EA announced that it had agreed to be acquired by an investor consortium comprised of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and other private equity firms at a price of $210.00 per share in cash. Following the closing of the proposed transaction, EA shareholders will be cashed out of their investment position and the Company’s shares will no longer be publicly traded.
The investigation seeks to determine (i) whether $210.00 per share is sufficient monetary consideration for EA shares, and (ii) whether the Company’s officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties or violated the securities laws in agreeing to sell the Company at $210.00 per share.
The company is also facing pushback from its own EA employees and even creators within the EA Creator Network. With some big names already deciding to leave the network before the deal potentially goes through.
Even if Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund will own almost the entirety of Electronic Arts and its video game titles, franchises like The Sims assure players that nothing will change for future plans.
Our mission, values, and commitment remain the same. The Sims will always be a space where you can express your authentic self.
What are your thoughts on the new information about the ownership stakes of Electronic Arts? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more updates and information on the EA buyout!
As an extension of the nursing school update (read our guide here!) added earlier this year to Pandasama’s Sims 4 Realistic Childbirth mod, a recent update added the ability for your sims to pursue a career in midwifery. Separate from the Doctor career in The Sims 4 Get To Work, although Get To Work is still required for functionality, the Midwifery career is a 5-Level career available to those who have a Nursing School degree. While it uses the same lot as the hospital career, your patients will be almost entirely pregnant sims and sometimes their newborns.
The Sims 4 Realistic Childbirth Mod: Midwifery Career
Table of Contents
Mod Installation Guide
As this is a script mod with lots of gameplay-enhancing and gameplay-changing mechanics, it is important to follow installation instructions. Make sure to take a peek at our Beginner guide to Mods & CC, but a short run down is…
To add the items to your game on Windows, follow this folder path: C:\Users\[USERNAME]\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\Mods To add the items to your game on MacOS, follow this folder path: Macintosh HD/Users/User/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Mods
Once you’ve downloaded the files, make sure you have an extraction program installed. These can include 7Zip, Winrar, etc. After that, highlight one or multiple zipped/compressed files and select “Extract Here”. Drag the extracted contents to your Mods folder. You can also sort them into their own folders within your Mods folder, but it is recommended to not nest them too many levels deep as it can cause longer loading times, and some CC items stop working when too deep within folders.
Since Pandasama’s Sims 4 Realistic Childbirth mod is a .ts4script/script mod, it can be separated into its own folder but it should not be placed more than one folder deep, as it may cause issues with the game’s ability to read the files properly. Keeping it in a separate folder also helps with organization, and also makes removal easy as script mods tend to break with updates! While they will not break every update, they may break during updates so removing them from the game and waiting to hear from the creator is the best practice to keep your game intact!
Tip: While many creators provide additional files, like .txt/ReadMe, .jpg/.png files, and more possible file types for previews or instructions, it is best practice to not put those into your Mods folder as they can also lead to longer load times and excessive clutter. Creators will often specify any files that need to be put into the folder, along with where, so primarily focus on .package and .ts4script files!
Optional Package: Death Enabler
An additional file that is available when you download Pandasama’s Sims 4 Realistic Childbirth mod is the Pandasama_Childbirth_mod_PATIENT_death_enabler.package. When your sims’ patients have high blood pressure or symptoms of preeclampsia, there is a chance they will collapse without treatment. If they do collapse, there is a 50% chance that they will die if you have this package in the folder. This will also negatively impact your sims’ performance at work, as well as their mood.
Setting Up
While the Get to Work Hospital can be perfectly functional for earlier levels of the Midwifery career, since the mod alters existing items to fit the new animations (like the surgical machine turning into a birthing bed or surgical table, depending on the birth style), some actions and patient interactions later on will require the placing of objects provided in the mod. These include specific hospital beds, yoga balls, birthing pillows, birthing pools, bassinets or NICU incubators, etc.
If you’d like to edit the hospital or rebuild it on your own, turn on testingcheats true and use the following cheat, bb.enablefreebuild, when you are on the hospital lot for an active work day. This cheat allows you to use build mode as normal, including completely rebuilding the structure, adding furniture, or downloading builds from the gallery.
Use the hashtag #Pandasama to find hospitals other players have edited to work with the mod. Make sure to tick the checkbox to allow custom content, as any builds with the custom objects will be marked as having such, and not visible by default!
While browsing the gallery for this article, I found a few great options created by players just like you to get you started! Since some of them were built prior to recent updates, certain items may still need to be placed for full functionality! Items for this mod can be found by searching Pandasama in Build & Buy Mode.
To join Nursing School, which is a pre-requisite to joining the Midwifery career, sims must use the “Business” app on their phone and click the “Join Nursing School” option, which costs §30,000. You can also shift-click on your sim with testingcheats enabled, and under Childbirth Settings, automatically graduate them from Nursing School.
Nursing School is also an active career with multiple levels, and includes studying at-home to be able to pass your nursing exam. Sims can retake the nursing exam if they fail it. The active career includes day-to-day activities like checking on patients, practicing suturing, cleaning, etc. For a more in-depth look and guide to this section of the mod, we have a Nursing School, NICU, and Llamaze Guide available here!
Day-To-Day Activities
The day-to-day of the Midwifery career, at all levels, functions similarly to the Get to Work Doctor career. Sims primarily work directly with patients to check on their health and diagnose any existing conditions, interact with their coworkers, perform surgeries and other procedures, perform administrative and janitorial work, etc. As your sim rises in levels, their job will be less about urine and blood tests and more about guiding sims during their home birth and working with sims with preeclampsia and other pregnancy-related conditions. This also includes caring for newborns, both full-term and NICU patients that require extra care.
Determining Course of Treatment
Sims will have access to most Get to Work Doctor examination options, such as Discuss General Health, Check Ears, Scan Body, etc. With the midwifery career, they will also have access to three new examination options to properly diagnose their patients; Take Blood Pressure, Order Urine Test, and Take Blood Sample.
When you request a Urine Test from your patient, they will exit their room and find the nearest toilet. After going to the bathroom, a small urine sample cup will appear next to them. Placing it into your sims inventory will allow them to be analyzed at the Chemical Analyzer and will inform you of the protein content of the urine if the sim possibly has preeclampsia, and will also alert to other health conditions if present.
When you request a Blood Test from your patient, your sim will bring out a tray and syringe. After sanitizing the arm of the patient, they will extract blood and the blood sample will appear in your sims inventory. Similarly to the urine test, use the Chemical Analyzer to check for any abnormalities that would indicate a condition requiring treatment or an emergency C-Section.
Lastly, your sim can Take the Blood Pressure of a patient, as high blood pressure is incredibly dangerous for pregnant people and is often the largest red flag for preeclampsia and other fatal conditions. Your sim will use a blood pressure cuff to check the patient’s blood pressure. While it will give a specific reading, the notification will also alert you if the sim’s blood pressure is slightly or extremely elevated, guiding you to the best treatment choice.
You can also choose to Perform Ultrasounds on patients at any stage of their pregnancy to monitor fetal development, discover the amount of babies being carried, and more. You’ll get updates on the pregnancy, how it is progressing generally, and the sims’ and their baby’s well-being.
Any health conditions can be treated in various ways, usually with the us of an IV, through the Treatment… menu when clicking on a patient. Treatment can also include waiting and evaluating other tests, dismissing patients who are deemed in good health and not in active labor, or by performing an emergency cesarean section.
Active Labor Activities
When a sim is in active labor, your sim has the ability to suggest certain activities to help progress their labor or aid in their comfort during that painful experience. This can include asking them to Take a Walk, Use a Yoga Ball, Receive an Epidural, and multiple other options to assist patients who are actively giving birth. Sims will progress through labor over time, with increased progression due to certain interactions, and their progress can be checked by Checking their Dilation and Checking on the Baby.
Dilation progresses from 1cm, which is the beginning of labor, to 10cm, which is when the pregnant sim is ready to give birth. Checking on the baby allows your sim to listen with a stethoscope, and will allow them to detect any fetal distress or irregularities that would require the use of Pitocin (an IV drug to progress labor and kickstart contractions) or an Emergency Cesarean Section.
Under the Childbirth Settings cheat menu, when you shift-click on a sim, you can also choose for the sim to Give Birth Immediately, unlocking all birth forms. This can be used with any pregnant sim in active labor, whether at the hospital or on a House Call.
House Calls
Once your sim has been promoted to the highest level in the career, which is Level 5: Independent Birth Specialist, they will get have a chance to get House Call events during their active shift. They will receive a pop-up for these events, and must click on the check-in desk to travel to the required lot. These are home births, where your sim will be required to travel to a residential lot and assist a sim in active labor. Using a menu available when clicking on the ground, you can create Birth Pillows, Birthing Pools, Yoga Balls, and more to assist with the labor and progression.
These home births have tasks similar to special events in the standard active careers, and have an overall goal indicating the type of birth the sim prefers. These can be Water or Natural births, and will indicate which type of object the sim would like to use during their labor. Your sim will have access to all the standard directed actions, though the actions available will be more hands-off than patients your sim meets in the hospital.
Your sim can Check the Dilation, Ask to take a walk, Ask to exercise on the yoga ball, check on the baby, and more to indicate the current progression of labor. You can also speak with the sim directly about how they’re feeling, their loved ones present on the lot, and more. When the sim is ready to give birth, click on the birthing pillows or the birthing pool and select the action to deliver the baby. The sim will go through custom animations based on the action chosen, with your sim guiding them through their delivery and handing them their baby.
Once a baby is born, your sim can assist the new parent with basic care of their infant, clean up, and provide other assistance until you are ready to leave. You can either wait until the end of the work day, or choose to Return to Hospital by clicking on your sim.
Collapsing Patients
With an untreated severe health condition like preeclampsia, there is a chance sims will collapse. If you have the earlier mentioned patient death enabler package file, there is a 50% chance the sim will die upon their collapse. These events can be avoided with proper treatment, and can also be triggered in the cheats menu. If you have the enabler file in your game and a sim passes, the sim will receive a sad moodlet and it will lower their work performance.
Getting Promoted & The Career Levels
This career has 5 levels, acting as a secondary half of the Nursing School career and one of the options to continue career progression once a sim has graduated. Each level has its own individual promotion requirement, without daily activities that need to be repeated (similar to most Active careers), and the pay continuously scales up. Other aspects stay the same; Particularly the days per week, and the hours the shift is active. All levels are 9AM-5PM Monday-Friday.
Level 1: Maternity Assistant
Rate per hour: §90 In-Game Description: You’re the first friendly face patients see. You check vitals, draw blood, and perform basic screenings. It’s all about learning the ropes and gaining trust. Hours: 9:00AM – 5:00PM Days Per Week: Monday through Friday Promotion Requirement: Attend two active work days at the career venue.
Level 2: Midwifery Trainee
Rate per hour: §120 In-Game Description: You’ve stepped up from the basics. You now assist in prenatal checkups and learn to spot early pregnancy complications. Hours: 9:00AM – 5:00PM Days Per Week: Monday through Friday Promotion Requirement: Give five blood pressure treatments.
Level 3: Certified Midwife
Rate per hour: §170 In-Game Description: You’re now trusted to manage standard prenatal care. Patients rely on your experience to guide them through a healthy pregnancy. Hours: 9:00AM to 5:00PM Days Per Week: Monday through Friday Promotion Requirement: Perform two emergency pre-term c-sections
Level 4: Senior Hospital Midwife
Rate per hour: §230 In-Game Description: You take the lead during labor. From labor management to emergency decisions, you’ve got it covered when the stakes are high. Hours: 9:00AM – 5:00PM Days Per Week: Monday through Friday Promotion Requirement: Perform three blood transfusions on babies.
Level 5: Independent Birth Specialist
Rate per hour: §300 In-Game Description: You’ve earned the trust to go beyond the hospital. You respond to home births, assess emergencies on the spot, and deliver babies in any setting. Hours: 9:00AM – 5:00PM Days Per Week: Monday through Friday Promotion Requirement: Respond to House Calls
Although Level 5 is the last official promotion in the Midwifery career, continuous progress and good performance will lead to incremental raises, creating an incentive for players to continue playing it as an active career.
Do you play with Pandasama’s Sims 4 Realistic Childbirth Mod, or are you planning to now? Make sure to follow The Sims Community as we discuss all things The Sims and Life Simulation games!
The next iteration of The Sims Single Player is internally titled “Project X” – rumored for a late 2026 release.
ARTICLE UPDATE:“The Sims 4 Remastered” rumor has shifted into rumors of a whole new The Sims Single Player game. Click here to read more!
Some new unofficial information about the new Sims Base Game coming our way has surfaced online. We’ve given it an unofficial placeholder name as “The Sims 4 Remaster” but there seems to be an official name used internally within the groups of EA development team and playtesters – titled Project X. And that it’s going to be its own seperate thing from The Sims 4, with features and select content being ported right into the game.
The new rumors about Project X contain more of the same type of information that we’ve listed in the first Sims 4 Remastered Rumors summary. Including Open Neighborhoods and better graphics. However, some new details have been spilled by an alleged former EA Firemonkeys employee. Who seems to have intel about the reasons behind this overhaul, features like busier neighborhoods and release information. With alleged confirmation that The Sims 4 as we know will eventually retire.
Table of Contents
New Project X Rumors
According to user gloamingthepain on ATRL, we have alleged intel on what’s true about The Sims 4 Remaster rumors and what’s false. This user claims to have worked with the EA Firemonkeys team and has internal knowledge on some of the development talks between the Maxis studios. Starting with the Project X name which is the only current known name used in internal playtests.
It’s being treated as a seperate game and aspects from The Sims 4 will be carried over. The alleged reason for this switch being made is the fact that quality assurance and development costs have “risen substantially in the last 24 months” for The Sims 4 as developers try to tackle and maintain the complex game code that’s over a decade old now.
The new version of The Sims Project X allegedly promises to better troubleshoot mod-related issues and be a stabile, new foundation for new releases moving forward.
The Sims Project X is a single player mode within the Project Rene ecosystem. With graphics that resemble the early development images shown during the first Behind The Sims sessions and select content from The Sims 4 that will be included in it.
Here’s what’s been shared by this user – and make sure you treat it as speculation and rumor until proven otherwise!
Majority of what is being rumoured is false.
The single player part of Project Rene is being sold separately, releasing end of next year (at this stage) and is being referred to in playtests as Project X.
Aspects of the Sims 4 are carrying over, but it is a seperate game.
Originally, the single player part of Rene would be included in the full game of “Project Rene” but they’ve decided to seperate different experiences into seperate games.
This new game will have more flashy features like Open Neighbourhoods, busier Neighbourhoods (I heard up to 3x busier than Sims 4), better graphics (similar to what we saw of the early Rene content, not the mobile playtests we’ve seen).
The game however will be more simplistic than Sims 4 in other ways as the single player experience of Rene was never meant to compete with The Sims 4 and was more a simplified single player offering in a game focusing on multiplayer, and to keep the Sims 4 as the flagship single player game.
However, EA are keen to retire the Sims 4, simply because both QA and development costs have risen substantially in the last 24 months as the game has become complex to keep maintaining while developing new content.
A main factor of this is many of the bug reports & broken save files are being caused due to mods and custom content, and they want to move on with a game that will have smarter tech that can identify mod related issues easier, as now hundreds of hours of QA for The Sims 4 is being wasted on trying to replicate issues that are mod related and not in the vanilla game. This means the new game will allow them to streamline to get fixes in the game faster, and waste less time trying to replicate and fix bugs that don’t exist in the vanilla game.
So to compensate for The Sims 4 coming to a close, certain fan favourite features of The Sims 4, as well as planned Sims 4 content will be added to this new game instead.
I have no idea what EA will call this game, but it’s not a Sims 4 remaster and it’s not the Sims 5.
They may decide to call it The Sims 5 for sake of ease, or maybe stick with The Sims 4 brand in hopes it attracts those players, but either way it’s not a proper sequel.
It’s the single player mode of Rene being sold a standalone game and will be nowhere near as complex as proper sequel would be.
I’m sure it will be fun, but I’m sure many will identify where it falls short to The Sims 4, while acknowledging the tech advancements of a new engine and better hardware.
That’s all I really know as I don’t work at Firemonkeys anymore & only know info from people who work there who are very focused on Freeplay.
Also, some extra thoughts (and it’s my opinion not information);
I don’t think EA will ever develop a stand alone AAA Sims game ever again. The Sims 4 is super lucrative but requires a lot of effort & money to keep it afloat. The Sims 4 will likely be the last AAA Sims game.
As such, I don’t expect this new game to be priced as a AAA game either.
This new single player mode of Rene will likely be the new norm moving forward & being sold seperate to the rest of Rene means if other parts of Rene fail, they’ll have this platform to continue with. And because it’s going to be designed to be more streamlined, it makes it easier to keep going and evolving indefinitely.
How true are the Project X Rumors?
It’s important to note that anything related to The Sims Project X still hasn’t been verified or officially announced by EA / Maxis team. At the moment we’ve had some internal surveys being published and insider information from various sources.
Before we wrote about The Sims 4 Remaster there was even a thread posted on Reddit by an anonymous user claiming to have been a part of The Sims Project X playtest. Allegedly confirming that EA is planning to port over all Packs and DLC content, make save games backwards compatible and more. With talks about a new User Interface as well:
Ok, I can’t stand by and watch everyone talking about The Sims 5 possibilities. I was part of a playtest for the next big Sims release and you have no idea what’s coming.
It’s so bad that I cannot handle being silent on it anymore. It’s been eating me alive. The next big Sims game is going to be The Sims 4 with a more open world, backwards compatibility with saves and packs, and that’s it. The UI is going to look very similar to Fortnite. This is what’s coming. They’re going to recycle The Sims 4 and make small changes and sell it to you again.
That’s all. I just needed to speak out because it’s killing me to stay silent. Throwaway for obvious purposes. I’ve played since The Sims 1 and I can’t watch this go down in good consciousness.
This thread specifically doesn’t validate the truth in all of these Sims Project X Rumors, but too many sources have posted about the new Sims single player platform for us not to take it somewhat seriously.
When is The Sims Project X releasing?
According to the new Project X leaker, the new iteration of The Sims will be releasing late 2026 with the current trajectory that everything’s been going on behind the scenes. The leaker also claims that there’s going to be one more Expansion Pack released (that they’re aware of) being developed by Maxis Europe. So there’s going to be some more content before the alleged release of The Sims Project X:
Question: So I guess those next two expansion packs for Sims 4 that will be released in 2026 will be the final ones?
Source: Basically yes, although I’m only aware of one more Expansion Pack which theme I don’t know. I just know it’s being developed in Europe.
That’s currently all there is to it when it comes to rumors about The Sims Project X. What are your thoughts on the new information of the next alleged Sims Base Game iteration? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned on Sims Community for all the latest Sims News!
The Sims 4 Prairie Dreams Creator Kit Has Been Announced
In the patch notes for the latest update for The Sims 4, a new Kit, The Sims 4 Prairie Dreams Creator Kit, has been announced. This Kit is being released in collaboration with CC Creator Miiko (@miiko_CC). Thanks to @lunar_britney and @Kallixer_ on X/Twitter, we had our first look at the Kit, as well as the Kit icon. Kallixer notes that the pack ID (the number given in order of release) is SP81, despite the latest Kit being SP74. Take the first look at the Kit Below!
The Sims 4 Prairie Dreams Creator Kit First Look
Mix charming prairie fashion and vintage pieces with The Sims™ 4 Prairie Dreams Kit. From rustic to elegant, these looks bring the romance of the countryside to wherever your Sims live. This kit is all about mixing rustic and vintage fashion for a timeless aesthetic. With pieces like the short overalls, leather boots, daisy jewelry, and lace-trimmed dresses, the soft and dreamy vibes of prairie life can be part of any Sim’s story. Created by Miiko.
Kit Features:
Embrace the prairie life – Send your Sims outdoors with rustic outfits that balance practicality and charm. Dress for work in the garden with short overalls, check pattern fabrics and leather boots.
Style your Sims for timeless romance – Whether it’s a romantic date or a carefree afternoon under the sun, celebrate love and leisure with vintage outfits, floral patterns and dreamy details.
Thanks to @Kallixer_ on X/Twitter, we have our first look at The Sims 4 Prairie Dreams Creator Kit’s logo. They noted that the Kit numbering does not match the current ordering of packs, likely meaning a release has shifted. Take a look!
There's a third kit in the files called Prairie Dreams 👀
Mix charming prairie fashion and vintage pieces with The Sims 4 Prairie Dreams Kit.
What are your thoughts on The Sims 4 Prairie Dreams Creator Kit? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to Sims Community for all the latest on The Sims 4 Kits!
The Holidays Are Getting Heated! The Sims 4 Deck The Palms Live Event Is Coming.
Yet another Live Event has hit The Sims 4! This time, Jasmine Holiday is heading around the globe to offer up items to those in warmer climates in The Sims 4 Deck The Palms Live Event. The event is due to run from December 16th 2025, to January 13th 2026 (subject to extension), and in that time, you can earn several new items, including a Crabby Patty recipe. Unlike previous events, this one has items releasing on specific days. Let’s take a look at everything included!
The Sims 4 Deck The Palms Live Event Items
As with previous events, The Sims 4 Deck the Palms Live Event takes place over several weeks, offering players the chance to nab new Create-A-Sim and Build-Buy items through in-game quests. Unlike previous events, the Deck the Plams event takes place over 3 weeks, with players simply receiving the items as surprise drops. Let’s take a look at what’s included!
Day 1 (December 16th)
Slightly Fuzzy Earmuffs
Naturescapes Magnet Board
Playful Dolphin Magnet
Day 4 (December 19th)
Happy Home Mailbox
Festive Fronds Palm Tree
Day 8 (December 24th / Christmas Eve)
Slightly Fuzzy Mountain Boots
Slightly Fuzzy Mittens
Stellar Spaceship Magnet
Day 9 (December 25th / Christmas Day)
Littlest Neighbourhood Library
Frosty Snowman Magnet
Day 10 (December 26th / Boxing Day)
Krabby Patty Secret Recipe
Serious Business Ticket Machine (Business & Hobby Expansion Pack)
Day 11 (December 27th)
Bikini Bottom Hoodie
Creature Comforts Pet Hoodie (Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack)
Day 12 (December 28th)
Holiday in Sulani Button Up
Chilly Days Magnet
Day 14 (December 30th)
Cutest Kiwi Magnet
My Little Void Critter Toddler Slide
My Big Voidcritter Child Slide (Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack)
Day 17 (January 2nd)
Undersea Phone
Pointiest Dino Magnet
Pack Exclusive Rewards
Controversially, this is the first Live Event to feature items that require specific packs to unlock and use. Days 10,11, and 14 require Expansion Packs. The Serious Business Ticket Machine requires Businesses & Hobbies, the Creature Comforts Pet Hoodie requires Cats & Dogs, and My Big Voidcritter Child Slide requires Adventure Awaits. Don’t worry though, as those days also offer something available to those without the required packs/Base Game only.
Official Blog Reveal and Frequently Asked Questions
It’s that time of year again! Jasmine Holiday is back with some fun holiday surprises. This holiday season, she’s traveling the world and sharing festive gifts with her fellow Simmers.
Don’t miss out on delightful gifts like the Littlest Neighborhood Library and Slightly Fuzzy Earmuffs. Log in to claim these exclusive treasures. This free, limited-time Event kicks off on December 16, 2025 at 9 a.m. PST and ends on January 13, 2026.
As Jasmine globe-trots through the holidays, she’s sending special gifts your way, like palm trees with colorful lights and collectable magnets to add to your board!
All you need to do is log in and check the event page to find out when Jasmine is sending next. Each login helps you unlock rewards along the progress bar.
Pack Exclusive Rewards
Jasmine has pulled a few special goodies to share during this event like the Creature Comforts Pet Hoodie for cats & dogs (so cute!), perfect for adding more fun stuff to the packs you may already have.
If you don’t currently own the packs associated with these rewards, don’t worry! The rewards you earn will be there waiting for you in the future if you decide to buy the pack.
In Deck the Palms Login Event, Jasmine will send three Pack Exclusive Rewards:
Creature Comforts Pet Hoodie (The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack)
Serious Business Ticket Machine (The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack)
My Big Voidcritter Child Slide (The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack)
So Many Opportunities for Rewards!
Get ready for more goodies! This new Login Event amps up the festive fun by shifting from weekly reward drops to more frequent surprises.
And hey, we don’t tell Jasmine Holiday when she can and can’t send gifts, she’s on her holiday! She sends them when she wants to.
How do you collect all of Jasmine’s gifts?
You’ll find new gifts from Jasmine delivered on specific days. Make sure to check the schedule so you can log-in on these days to claim the rewards. If you start the Event late you will find some rewards already unlocked and ready for you to enjoy, but you will need to log in for a few days to unlock all of these festive surprises. Make sure to log in by January 4th to claim them all.
It’s the holidays! With all these gifts coming in, your inventory is full and our delivery folks are doing their best to deliver it all in a timely, orderly fashion.
Logging in on Day 1 of the Event you can claim these new items:
Slightly Fuzzy Earmuffs
Naturescapes Magnet Board
Playful Dolphin Magnet
Unlocks December 19
Happy Home Mailbox
Festive Fronds Palm Tree
Unlocks December 24
Slightly Fuzzy Mountain Boots
Slightly Fuzzy Mittens
Stellar Spaceship Magnet
Unlocks December 25
Littlest Neighborhood Library
Frosty Snowman Magnet
Unlocks December 26
Krabby Patty Secret Recipe
Serious Business Ticket Machine (Business & Hobby Expansion Pack)
Unlocks December 27
Bikini Bottom Hoodie
Creature Comforts Pet Hoodie
Unlocks December 28
Holiday in Sulani Button Up
Chilly Days Magnet
Unlocks December 30
Cutest Kiwi Magnet
My Little Voidcritter Toddler Slide
My Big Voidcritter Child Slide (Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack)
Unlocks January 2
Undersea Phone
Pointiest Dino Magnet
Event End January 13
FAQ
Do I need to log in to my EA account?
A: Yes, by logging into your EA account, you save your Event progress and the rewards you earn from this Event to the account. That way, if you ever need to install The Sims 4 again, you simply need to log back in to gain access to your rewards!
What if I log in and don’t see the Event?
A: The Deck the Palms Even starts on December 16, 2025 at 9 AM PST and ends on January 13, 2026 . Rewards must be claimed before 9 AM PST on January 13, 2026 or they will be unavailable.
Please make sure you are online and logged into your EA Account. If you still do not see the Event, you may need to restart The Sims 4 or disable any UI mods you have installed.
Will this Event be available to everyone?
A: Yes! The free Deck the Palms Event will be available to all players from December 16, 2025 to January 13, 2025.
Why am I unable to claim an unlocked reward after logging in?
A: Certain rewards unlock on different days during the event, each new day that you log in while there are unlocked rewards, you will progress to the next set of rewards that are available. For example, if you start the event late, there may be several rewards that are already unlocked, but you will still need to log in daily to redeem new rewards until you are caught up to the current locked rewards.
Can I still complete the Event if I start late?
A: In order to get all the rewards, you will need to log in on January 4, 2026. Then, you will have access to all the previous weeks’ rewards and earn those rewards every new day that you log in until January 13, 2026.
What are the Pack Exclusive Rewards and how can I earn them?
A: Pack Exclusive Rewards in this Login Event are exclusive items that you can claim if you have the pack that the Reward is tied to. The rewards are:
Creature Comforts Pet Hoodie (Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack)
Serious Business Ticket Machine (Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack)
My Big Voidcritter Child Slide (Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack)
What if I don’t own the Expansion Pack?
A: Players need to own the corresponding pack in order to access the rewards. You can claim the reward to your EA account before you own the pack, no worries! It will unlock for you once you have the Pack.
Is there a time limit on Pack Exclusive Rewards?
A: As long as you claim the reward to your EA account, there is no time limit on access to the reward, including after the Event ends! Once you own the associated pack, you can use the rewards you’ve claimed!
The Sims 4 Deck the Palms Login Event will be available beginning on December 16, 2025 on EA app, Epic Games Store and Steam®, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One systems.
The Sims 4 Deck the Palms Login Event requires The Sims 4 base game, available free to download with all game updates. See minimum system requirements for the pack.
What are your thoughts on The Sims 4 Deck the Palms Live Event? Let us know in the comments below, and make sure to stay tuned to Sims Community for all the latest on Live Events.
A new collaboration between The Sims 4 and Spongebob brings two unique Kits your way!
EA has just dropped some first information about the upcoming Kits titled The Sims 4 Spongebob’s House Kit and The Sims 4 Spongebob Kids Room Kit. Done in collaboration between Maxis game studio and Nickelodeon TV network that owns the SpongeBob brand.
The two Kits are expected to drop this week on December 4th, 2025.
We have some first images from this collaboration that you can check out down below:
Official Screens
Teaser Trailer
The Sims Team included a funny teaser trailer in the style of SpongeBob’s animation to announce the two new Kits. See it down below:
First Blog Post
The Sims Team released a new blog post detailing about the release of these two new Kits. Announcing The Sims 4 Bikini Bottom Bundle which will be available for a limited time until March 3rd, 2026. When you’ll be able to get the two Kits for the price of $9.99USD. Each Kit release is priced at 6.99USD seperately, or a price equivalent to your local currency.
Find out more in the official release blog below:
For a limited-time, The Sims 4 Bikini Bottom Bundle will be available until March 3, 2026, offering access to three exclusive items alongside both kits! Host playdates on The Flying Dutchman’s Jungle Gym, jam out on the Goofy Goober Guitar or add quirky fun to your space with the Conch Street Aquarium.
With these Kits, build your own iconic pineapple home, design a SpongeBob-themed room, and add a splash of nautical décor magic to give your Sims’ homes some serious F.U.N.
Make Every Day the Best Day Ever
Channel the whimsical spirit of everyone’s favorite underwater fruit home with The Sims 4 SpongeBob’s HouseKit. Simmers can create their very own version of 124 Conch Street using Pineapple Under The Sea siding, walls and roofing, crowned with a playful Pineapple Topper. Complete the look with floor tiles and wallpaper swatches like Sturdy Steel Plating walls, Bamboo Block Print, and Sun-Soaked Sand flooring to give any home the ultimate SpongeBob touch.
A Steel Hatch door, Port-of-Call Porthole Windows, and Brilliant Bubble Vent add the final details to the finest of underwater architecture, designed to withstand even the most persistent Nematodes with rivets aplenty.
The Sims 4 SpongeBob’s HouseKit is filled with whimsical details and iconic furniture that bring Bikini Bottom to life, including:
SpongeBob’s Diver Helmet TV: Bring a piece of Bikini Bottom into your Sim’s home with The Diver’s Helmet TV, the iconic TV from SpongeBob’s Pineapple.
“Hook, Line, and Sinker” Side Table: A sturdy wooden top supported by playful hooks reminiscent of SpongeBob’s underwater adventures.
Foghorn Alarm: A functional alarm clock with VFX and sounds that will ensure your Sims will never be late for a shift at the Krusty Krab!
The Legendary Life Raft Chair: A chair made with oceanic charm and cozy cushioning for your Sim’s deepest thoughts.
“I’m Ready!” Single Bed: This bed will have your Sim waking up each morning exclaiming, “I’m ready!”
All Hail, The Magic Conch!: This conch is your go-to guru!
“Going on Strike!” Record Player: This player will spin tunes that echo the energy of Squidward’s leadership and SpongeBob’s unwavering enthusiasm.
Inflatable Loveseat: Whether lounging after a long day of flipping Krabby Patties or planning the next jellyfishing trip, this seat will be your Sims trusty companion.
Buccaneer’s Barrel Chair: With a plush red cushion reminiscent of Mr. Krabs’ treasured loot, this chair is sure to make your Sims feel like they are sitting in the captain’s quarters.
Privateer Door: Whether flipping Krabby Patties or practicing the best pirate laugh, this door will transport your Sims to a world of endless adventures!
Fry Cook’s Favorite Dining Table: Inspired by the iconic Krusty Krab, this table is perfect for those who dream of flipping Krabby Patties and living a nautical nonsense lifestyle.
Soak up the fun with SpongeBob-inspired bedroom décor
In The Sims 4 SpongeBob Kid’s RoomKit, Simmers can create a littlest fan’s bedroom with SpongeBob-inspired furniture, toys and accessories! From pineapple-patterned pieces to character posters and playful accents straight from Bikini Bottom, even the Krusty Krab gets a visit, with new replica toys sure to soak up the fun.
Highlights from The Sims 4 SpongeBob Kids Room Kit include:
SpongeBob-Themed Bed: Dive into dreamland with SpongeBob’s signature style.
Pineapple-Inspired Study Desk, Activity Table, Nightstand, Dresser and Bookshelf: Bring cheerful Bikini Bottom energy to any room.
Clam-Shaped Task Chair: Comfy enough to make Squidward jealous.
Gary Wall Clock and The Many Faces of Gary Light: Keep time and shine light with everyone’s favorite snail.
SpongeBob and Patrick Wall Decals: Brighten your Sims’ walls with familiar faces.
The Krusty Krab Play Set: Mini replica toy to flip imaginary Krabby Patties and dream of jellyfishing adventures with SpongeBob and Patrick. **
SpongeBob Plushies: Kids will be sure to enjoy plushies of SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, and Sandy Cheeks
The Sims 4 Bikini Bottom Bundle will be available on December 4, 2025 on PC via EA app, Mac® via Origin, Epic Games Store and Steam®, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One systems. The Sims 4 SpongeBob’s House Kit and The Sims 4 SpongeBob Kids Room Kit are available to purchase separately for $6.99 each. The Sims 4 Bikini Bottom Bundle retails for $9.99. Offer ends March 3, 2026.
The Sims 4 SpongeBob’s House Kit and The Sims 4 SpongeBob Kids Room Kit require The Sims 4 base game, available free to download with all game updates. See minimum system requirements for the pack.
What are your thoughts on the new Sims 4 Spongebob Kits coming out December 4th? Let us know in the comments down below and stay tuned for the latest Sims 4 Kits release news!
The December 2nd Patch for The Sims 4 has arrived!
Electronic Arts and Maxis have released a brand new The Sims 4 Update across supported platforms; including PC, Mac, Playstation and Xbox supported platforms. The latest game patch fixes over 40 game bugs as reported in the latest Sims 4 Laundry List. With possible new features and improvements added along with it.
Find out what’s been improved and added in the official patch notes below:
The Commitments to Stability Update
Table of Contents
Installing the Latest Sims 4 Update
You can get the latest The Sims 4 Update on the following official launchers and platforms:
You can download the latest Sims 4 Update by checking for a Patch through the EA App, Steam or Epic Games launcher for Desktop. If you have Automatic Updates enabled the update will automatically download through your client program. In case your EA App is not working properly ensure you’ve cleared your app cache!
If you play The Sims 4 on Xbox Series X / S and Playstation 4 and 5 you can request a new update by checking for updates under The Sims 4 game in the Main Menu. If you’ve enabled automatic updates the Patch should download right away.
Official Sims 4 Patch Notes
Update: 12/2/2025 PC: 1.120.117.1030 / Mac: 1.120.117.1230 Console: Version 2.25
Sul Sul Simmers!
This update brings a variety of top community reported bug fixes and improvements across the base game, plus new furniture swatches and quality-of-life fixes for your Sims. We’re also excited to announce a new Creator Kit coming soon called Prairie Dreams by Miiko! Read below for one more exciting update coming to The Sims 4.
Happy Simming!
-The Sims 4 Team
What’s New?
Upcoming Kits
The Sims 4 SpongeBob’s House Kit and The Sims 4 SpongeBob Kids Room Kit will be available for purchase on December 4, 2025.
The Sims 4 Bikini Bottom Bundle, featuring both kits and three exclusive SpongeBob SquarePants items: the Goofy Goober Guitar, Conch Street Aquarium and The Flying Dutchman’s Jungle Gym. Please note, in order to receive these exclusive items, you must purchase The Bikini Bottom Bundle. The bundle is available December 4, 2025 through March 3, 2026.
Upcoming Creator Kit
Our work with incredible community creators continues with a new Creator Kit collaboration. Coming this month: Prairie Dreams by Miiko, arriving on December 11, 2025.
Bug Fixes
It wouldn’t be the patch notes without a few bug fixes! The following fixes are part of our continued commitment to regularly fix top voted community issues. Today we’re shipping improvements to smooth out unexpected behaviors, tidy up some long-standing quirks, and keep your Sims running just a bit more predictably. Thanks for all of your continued reports; your feedback is instrumental to our work.
Base Game
[EA Forums] Child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult, and Elder Sims will once again no longer have clothing visible under their privacy mosaic. However, the cause of the issue is different for other ages, and we’re still investigating those instances to hopefully fix in an upcoming update.
[EA Forums] The Nature Soundscapes radio station will no longer wake up Sims when they listen to it while sleeping.
[EA Forums] Teens will retain their active Aspiration (so long as it is not a ‘Teen-specific’ Aspiration) when they age up into a Young Adult.
[EA Forums] The Arrrmed Living Chair had a duplicate color swatch. We didn’t want to remove a swatch, because that might break existing builds, so we decided to change one of those swatches to be a new variant. When choosing what color to go with, the artist thought this piece of furniture might nicely match some of the Enchanted by Nature furniture in style. But it felt odd to add just one swatch, so we added an additional two other variants, but then realized the Arrrmed Living Chair was part of a set, and we probably wanted those three new variants to match other pieces of furniture from Base Game—takes a breath—so in total there are at total of 27 new free swatches (9 objects with three new variants each). Here’s a list of the updated furniture pieces. Enjoy! (We know Princess Cordelia would!)
Arrrmed Living Chair
Deep Delight Living Chair
Cuttlefish Love Seat
Cuttlefish Sofa
Arrrmed Dining Chair
Captain Rodrigo de Pablo Dining Chair
Arrrmless Dining Chair
Cephalopod Bar Stool with Back Support
Cephalopod Bar Stool
[EA Forums] The Main Menu will no longer show “WWWWWW” when there isn’t an active Household to display on the Main Menu.
[EA Forums] Sims will once again change into their outfits in front of Toddler Sims.
[EA Forums] We fixed an issue where Moodlets and Quirk notifications could occur for a Young Adult Sim.
[EA Forums] We fixed some texture issues with the IndustryMatters Brick Facade with Wood Trim wallpaper when applied to wall corners for two of the wallpaper’s variants.
Sims without the Horse Ranch Expansion Pack were able to get a Fear of Horses, but this can no longer happen.
Good and Evil Sims will no longer mourn excessively at gravestones.
Multiple Packs
[EA Forums] We fixed an instance of Save Corruption that was resulting in Error Code 109:4fe45107:239aa048. In the save we received, there was a Clone Sim that had a Household status set incorrectly in our code. We fixed it so if a Household is in this state it will no longer crash the game upon trying to load the game. If this error happens in other ways, new save files shared with us will be beneficial in uncovering the cause. (Business & Hobbies, Get to Work)
[EA Forums] We fixed an issue where sand sculptures were auto-generating on beaches when it rained a lot. This is still occurring if the Weather Machine is used by the player, but we have a fix planned for that instance in an upcoming patch. (Island Living, Seasons)
[EA Forums] We made a change that allows gates with lanterns to have the lanterns light up the area around them. This should now work for the following gates:
Spanish Inquisition (Base Game)
Woodn’t You Like to Know (Base Game)
Maiden’s Gate (Base Game)
Barn Door Double (Cats & Dogs)
Cozy Craftsman Gate (Seasons)
[EA Forums] Sims who dislike Mischief or Singing will no longer autonomously do mischievous behaviors or sing. (Base Game, City Living)
[EA Forums] The Police Station, Foxbury Commons, and other work computers are now fixable after they’ve broken. (Get to Work, University, and More)
[EA Forums] The Tomarani Introduction will now fulfill the Greet Co-Worker task in the Doctor Career. (Get to Work, For Rent)
Fixed an issue with Temporary Stays where certain Sims couldn’t be invited to stay over from a Residential Rental lot. (Growing Together)
City Living
[EA Forums] Sims in the Social Media Career will now automatically meet their Coworkers so that they can perform certain Work From Home tasks. This fix will only occur on fresh saves.
Cats & Dogs
[EA Forums] We fixed a situation where it looked like you couldn’t have more than 7 Sims in a Household. This was because the Household had an empty Sim slot “reserved” for an “Adopt a Cat” story arc that the player couldn’t know was happening in the background. This story arc will now just wait until there is an available household slot and not prevent the addition of new members to the Household in the meantime.
[EA Forums] We added timing restrictions on how often a Pet can autonomously explore the PooHoo Bush to every 3 days. Doing this causes them to get sick and it was previously happening too frequently.
Sims will no longer receive a text from their Pet about missing curfew.
Seasons
[EA Forums] Sims are now able to travel between World/Lots without the Seasons screen popping up.
[EA Forums] Children and Teens can now donate on a Computer when in the Scouts Afterschool Activity.
Get Famous
The “Attend Drama Club” interaction is now available as a Self-interaction and on other Household members when a Teen Sim is at max level in Drama Club and has left for rehearsal. This interaction will remain for 1 hour 30 minutes (in-game time) afterwards to allow the player time to select it.
Cottage Living
Added a shadow to the Cottage Living pack icon.
High School Years
[EA Forums] The Corndog food object is no longer using a block model (which appeared as invisible in Live Mode). This also fixes the related issue where it didn’t appear in preview UI images.
Growing Together
[EA Forums] We rebalanced the Mental Fog Moodlet to appear after 3-4 days of running the Work Hard career tone. It used to appear after 1-2 days of doing this.
For Rent
[EA Forums] Lines will no longer appear on Sims’ arms while wearing either the shirts (yfTop_EP15StackedPocketShirt or ymTop_EP15StackedPocketShirt) if nails are also equipped.
Lovestruck
[EA Forums] Male Gallery Sims will no longer have high-pitched voices. Their correct voice tone will be used. This fix is not retroactive and will only affect future saves going forward.
Life & Death
[EA Forums] Made progress on Children being taken away despite not being neglected. More investigation is required before we mark this one as fully resolved.
[EA Forums] House Parties and Spooky Parties have been added as viable options for the Bucket List goal “I want to throw the most bizarre costume party of all time!”
[EA Forums] Ghost Sims will no longer appear as a regular, living Sims while in the Reaper Career attempting to collect souls.
[EA Forums] The Mentor Coworker interaction is available on a Co-Worker while they are performing “Practice Reaping” on the training dummy.
The “Ingest Ambrosia” interaction is now available to Ghost Sims in the Reaper Career.
Businesses & Hobbies
[EA Forums] We fixed an instance of Save Corruption that was resulting in Error code: 123:b378c837: In this Save, a Sim was dead, a ghost, and min LOD (Not actively engaged with by the player), which was causing some code around Small Business careers to crash the game on load. We made it so that if a Sim is referenced in this situation the game will not crash when trying to load.
[EA Forums] The Stucko’s Top Stucco Wallpaper now extends fully to the floor when applied.
[EA Forums] We added a missing purple variant color swatch to 8 doors and windows.
Lang’s Door
Double Arched Nordhaven-Style Door
Single Nordhaven-Style Door
Arched Nordhaven-Style Window
Nordhaven-Style Portal Window
Nordhaven-Style Cottage Window
Nordhaven-Style Window
Nordhaven-Style Glass Block Window
Adventure Awaits
[EA Forums] Pre-made Custom venues will now display and execute their pre-made schedules. This means when you load into a pre-made Custom Venue, you will now see the proper schedules and gameplay. This was previously only working on our internal builds due to some code that needed changes. This is fixed in existing saves so long as the venue’s schedule hasn’t been edited already by the player. This doesn’t fully address the EA Forums thread, which mentions “Custom Venues not saving roles” but makes substantial progress towards the goal of fixing it fully.
[EA Forums] The jacket (cfTop_EP20PulloverLayered) is now tagged as a Masculine style choice option.
[EA Forums] All Adventure Awaits Toddler and Child hairstyles are now visible if you remove the Masculine/Feminine Style choice filters.
The Gran Gran’s Flannel Curtain rods were using a different shader than the curtain set, but we’ve updated them to use the same shader. This was done on purpose since curtains and solid objects use different shaders, but in this case, it caused a difference in some lighting scenarios which made the objects look like they were different colors.
The jacket (ymTop_EP20FleeceCurve) was missing fashion choice tags. These have been added.
Vampires
Non-Vampire Sims will no longer autonomously eat Plasma Fruit Salad.
Realm of Magic
[EA Forums] All variant textures display the logo of the bottle properly on the Classic Apothecary Cabinet.
My Wedding Stories
[EA Forums] We fixed an issue where the “Exchange Vows” interaction could become greyed out on the Wedding Arch even though the necessary Sims were present for the ceremony.
Paranormal
The Terrified and Scared Emotions are now available in Sim Stats.
Greenhouse Haven
The AirCycler fan will no longer disappear when viewed from a different floor than the floor the player is currently on.
Autumn Apparel
[EA Forums] Fingernails will no longer clip through the gloves (yfAcc_GlovesSP69Leather asset).
The update is around 820MB on PC / Mac.
Screenshot
What’s your experience with the latest Sims 4 Update so far? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more Sims 4 News right here on Sims Community!
Announced a little over a month ago–The Sims Card Game YaGoBuGi has officially released! Quite a surprising launch as The Sims Board Game just launched this past July. It’s starting to seem like EA and The Sims Team are beginning to pump out tabletop games as quickly as they pump out expansion packs for The Sims 4.
I digress, read on for more information about this brand new The Sims card game.
Table of Contents
The Sims Card Game YaGoBuGi!
What Is It?
The Sims Card Game YaGoBuGi is a party game for 3-6 players ages 8and up. The cover specifically states “Fluency in Simlish not required,” which shows knowledge of The Sims series is not necessary to play the game. This makes it more accessible to all potential players.
YaGoBuGi is published by Goliath Games, a game company with an extensive catalog. They also published the previously mentioned The Sims Board Game.
Details on the game itself are quite sparse because, as of EA’s release announcement, there isn’t an official product page for the game on EA’s website or Goliath Games’s website. At this point in time, all release announcements for the game point to the Amazon sale page which is quite vague with the description.
What’s in the Box
120 Cards
40x Small Simoleon Tokens
40x Medium Simoleon Tokens
10x Large Simoleon Tokens
Complete Instructions
Rules
I want to start off by saying I’m a pretty big board game nerd. I’ve played hundreds of different games and I am always teaching my friends new ones. Some of my favorite titles are Everdell, Quacks, Unfair, and Hot Streak, if you’re curious.
Long story short, I’m not new to board or card games. It takes a lot for game rules to confuse me.
Having said that, I cannot figure out what the rules of the game are based on the Amazon description listed below.
SIMLISH, THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE SIMS: Speak it, shout it, match it in a fast-paced, fun game that feels like a Simlish conversation gone delightfully off the rails
MATCH AND COLLECT: Draw your Ya-Go-Bu-Gi cards, build words of 2, 3, or 4 syllables, and say them out loud. Match your phrase with another player to earn Simoleons.
USE MULTIPLE SKILLS: Mix, match, negotiate, and yap your heart out as you play. The longer the matched phrase, the bigger the stack of Simoleons.
ENDLESS LAUGHS: No two rounds ever sound the same. Easy to learn, endlessly replayable, and guaranteed to spark giggles.
It by no means sounds difficult, I’m just struggling to figure out where the GAME aspect comes into play. You draw cards. You swap cards. You somehow decide when to play cards as a made up Simlish word and if you match with someone else, you get simoleons based on the length of the word.
Without official rules being posted anywhere online it’s difficult to say what the gameplay is actually like. With the description above, The Sims Card Game YaGoBuGi sounds like a pretty mindless game with little player input. Maybe I’ll be surprised once the official rules make their way online in the future.
Price
The Sims Card Game YaGoBuGi retails for $15 USD or the equivalent in your currency. This is five dollars cheaper than their previously released The Sims Board Game.
Where to Buy
Currently the only retailer with the game available for purchase is Amazon. I wouldn’t be surprised if more retailers have the game available as a later time. Target, for instance, sells The Sims Board Game, so it makes sense they’d also sell YaGoBuGi.
What do you think? Are you excited to play The Sims Card Game YaGoBuGi? Let us know in the comments below.
The Saudi PIF is facing ‘financial distress’ after their recent EA deal, causing many to worry about the future of the company
Back in September, it was confirmed that Electronic Arts (EA) would go private after a joint buyout deal worth an astounding $55 billion. Backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, the acquisition promised stability, growth, and fresh resources for EA. This week, following Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington D.C, rumours have emerged that claim the PIF are facing ‘financial distress’, through a combination of large-scale buyouts in media and entertainment, as well as several mega projects such as Neom’s ‘The Line’.
Evan Vucci | AP
Table of Contents
PIF’s Cash Crunch After the EA Deal
Saudi Arabia’s PIF may have celebrated its role in taking EA private, but the timing of the acquisition now looks precarious. According to the New York Times, the fund is running low on money for large investments, and with the buyout still needing regulatory approval both in the US and abroad, this could mean trouble for further investment or prove detrimental to EA’s operations.
Wikimedia Commons
That could mean prioritising aggressive monetisation models, accelerating DLC releases, or leaning more heavily on microtransactions to quickly boost revenue, to secure a short-term term immediate cash flow when the deal goes through. While such moves might deliver short-term returns, they risk undermining EA’s creative balance by diverting resources away from player-focused and consumer-conscious development. For a franchise like The Sims, this shift could translate into faster, less meaningful content output that feels less transformative, destroying any trust and goodwill that is left in the community.
Saudi Arabia’s Ambitions Under Pressure
The PIF’s move into gaming and media investment is a diversification strategy, with billions invested across publishers, esports, and technology. Stakes in Nintendo, Take‑Two, and Activision Blizzard, alongside ownership of Savvy Games Group, made Saudi Arabia’s investment intentions very clear. Yet the cash crunch threatens to slow this momentum. If the fund is forced to rein in spending, its ability to bankroll new acquisitions, esports leagues, or large‑scale partnerships could be limited.
What Players Should Watch For
For Simmers, the immediate future may not bring dramatic changes, EA remains profitable, and The Sims continues to be one of its most profitable franchises. But the financial strain on PIF could change how the company is managed behind the scenes. If short‑term revenue becomes the priority, players might see a faster output of kits and expansions designed to maximise sales, rather than a focus on gameplay innovation. On the other hand, if EA’s leadership resists that pressure, the franchise could continue to evolve at its own pace, balancing creativity with a player-centric focus. The community will have to be watching to see whether upcoming updates feel like genuine steps forward or simply quick fixes to keep cash flowing.
The Bigger Picture
The PIF’s financial strain makes clear the risks of large deals in gaming. What looked like limitless capital backing EA’s future now appears more fragile, with investors potentially prioritising short‑term returns over community focus. For The Sims, this means keeping a close eye on how development choices evolve under new ownership and whether content feels driven by genuine innovation or by the need to quickly generate revenue. Who’s to say what the future holds?
How are you feeling about the EA buyout deal now the dust has settled? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to Sims Community for all the latest on Electronic Arts.
With the recent delay of the upcoming life simulation Paralives, moving their early access date from December 2025 to May 2026, many players have been itching to know where the game is in terms of development, especially when it comes to gameplay and the Paralives Live Mode. On November 25th 2025, Community Manager Rina hosted a livestream which gave the first extended look at Paralives Live Mode, showing off gameplay features and the current state of the game. This stream was pre-recorded and unedited to show current progress and gameplay in the game, with multiple team members in the chat to assist and answer questions.
Per the announcement of delaying the release of the game, the team still has many bugs in multiple aspects of the game that they want to fix before it is released in early access. They have committed to providing the best possible product, even as an early access game. Note that while this list will have many features and ideas listed, nothing is final as it is still in early access.
Table of Contents
The Paramaker
While it was a Paralives Live Mode stream, surrounding gameplay details and functions, it did begin in the Paramaker to show off certain features and introduce the main Para in this video, Milo Caruso. While the Paramaker has many aspects that include the appearance and clothes of the Para as well, this video primarily focused on the personality system, vibes, social perks, talents, and lifestyle choices.
Paras can currently dedicate a certain number of points to four categories that dictate their disposition and their skills; Physique, Mind, Creativity, and Charisma. You can select your Para’s Vibe, which dictates how they interact with the world around them. These vibes currently include Overjoyed, Gloomy, Energetic, Serious, and Jester.
A Para’s Social Perk will give them certain advantages in drawbacks using the new relationships and Together Bar system. Currently, Paras have five available Social Perks, including Good at Being Alone, Good at Making Friends, Good at Taking Care of Others, Good at Romantic Relationships, and Good at Cooperating.
Depending on your plans for your Para’s skills and career, you can also choose a Talent, giving them a slight advantage at skills within certain categories. These Talents currently include Music, Fitness, Food, Technology, and Art. You can also choose for your Para to be a Jack-of-all-Trades, or even to be Good at Nothing!
Lastly, Lifestyle choices will dictate certain habits or decisions your Paras will make without influencing their personality. You can decide if your Para is or is not a Vegetarian, as well as whether they have standard or not so standard sleeping and cleaning habits. Is your Para an Early Bird with some Sloppy Habits, or a NeatNight Owl?
Outfits
Paras currently have four outfit categories available, which may change as we get closer to Early Access and will likely change with later updates that will include things like Pools, Seasons, etc. Paras can currently have Casual, Work, Exercise, and Pajamas outfits, and they can have multiple outfits per category.
Time Progression
Time progression in the Paralives Live Mode seems to run similarly to other Life Simulations like The Sims franchise, where 1 minute in-game is approximately 1 second in real time. Time can be paused, standard speed (1), or sped up to 2x or 3x. There is currently no “Ultra-Speed” option as is available in The Sims 4 and other mainline Sims Franchise games, even when Paras are sleeping.
Time seems to be tracked in Days of the Week and Days of a Season. The livestream takes place over about four days, from Monday Spring 1 to Thursday Spring 4. We don’t yet know if the length of seasons can be altered, if time can be sped up or slowed down on average, or if years are tracked once you pass the first year. These features may also change closer to the Early Access release, or at the full release of the game.
Currency
The currency in Paralives uses the US Dollar Symbol ($) and is called Paradimes. You can track your Para’s available Paradimes on the top right of the screen, and they can gain more money through their job, individual opportunities, skills, and more.
The Town & Shopping
The town explored in the Paralives Live Mode Livestream features multiple restaurants, stores, cafes, and other buildings to explore. While the world does not seem to be a true “Open World”, there was a noticeable lack of loading screens. When Paras want to visit a new building, clicking on the building and selecting “Visit Building” will load the interior of the building, causing some lag but quickly loading and avoiding any distracting loading screens.
In the Paralives Live Mode livestream, we got to see a few shops around town, including a plant store called Bloom, a cafe called The Story Nook, and an antique furniture store called Market Antiques. Paras can enter these stores and purchase items by clicking on what they like. Items can randomly be on sale or full price, and the store Bloom has a free plant available every day! When you purchase items in town, they will load into your Inventory to be interacted with, gifted, or placed in your Para’s home.
Food & Cooking
Cooking and purchasing are two of the ways your Paras can satisfy their hunger need. They can cook in their own kitchen and learn more complex recipes, starting off with options as simple as microwaved hot dogs and frozen pizzas for the lowest levels of the skill. If cooking isn’t their thing, the Paralives Live Mode Livestream showed that a quick walk to a nearby cafe lets them buy a quick bite for there or to-go. Paras noticeably eat quickly, giving them enough time to prepare prior to leaving for timed events like work. Paras can also satisfy their needs with quick snacks available in their home or out and about, if they’re not one for cooking.
There is also a food spoilage system in place. We did not see if there are specific timers or if foods spoil at different rates depending on skill level, individual chef, environment, etc. during the gameplay shown in the Paralives Live Mode livestream. However, it looked like a frozen pizza cooked the night prior spoiled when left on the counter by the next afternoon.
Aspirations, Wants, and Vibes
Per the paramaker, your Para’s Vibe will help to generate their reactions, wants, and general outlook on their life and the world around them. They can also develop lists of goals they want to pursue, like quests, in reaction to events (Like moving to a new home), or aspire to new things. Wants will generate in reaction to low needs, skills, your Para’s vibes, aspirations, and personality, and more. Wants reset everytime your Para sleeps at night, so they tend to be more short term, like Milo wanting to Practice Music for Two Hours.
Building Skills
As your para performs certain actions and practices their skills, their abilities or actions will become more complex. For example, Paras with a low musical or guitar skill will play simple and slow songs while they’re still grasping the basics of the instrument, or paras with a low cooking skill will only be able to microwave or prepare pre-made and quick food options. As your paras develop their skills, new abilities and options unlock, and these skills will help them progress in their aspirations, wants, and careers.
Skills seem to be separated into overall categories and individual niches. We noticed while watching the stream that while Milo practiced his guitar, he developed a slower-developing overall Music skill while also building a Guitar skill. Similarly, Milo developed a slower-developing Technology skill while also building a Programming skill. This is likely connected to a Para’s chosen Talent in the Paramaker.
Careers
For the early access build of Paralives, there is a surprisingly extensive amount of career options. Paras can enter different levels of careers based on the skills, general knowledge, and experience. Most will start at Rank 1, but some careers go as high as Rank 30.
To get a job, Paras can view an overall list of available openings on their phone, or visit buildings directly in town with a “Hiring” posting on their window or door. Since paras can enter different ranks of jobs based on their experience or skills, this likely means they can pursue higher paying positions at new companies while keeping their title and work progress. They can also get experience in general things like Management, and likely switch industries.
When Paras level up or rank up in their career, they can choose a Perk. These options often include a rank up, so a direct promotion to the next level, or a perk with a drawback that keeps them at the same level but provides other bonuses. For example, Milo had the opportunity to progress to Rank 2 after a great day at work, or Milo could choose to work Overtime as a perk. This perk doubled his take home pay, adding $250 per day, but extended his shift time 3 hours.
The careers available to Paras vary, as they are separated by category/field, and certain careers can appear in multiple categories depending on the exact role and location. Jobs that Paras are or are not qualified for will appear, including their rank, take home pay per day, and the location. Some of these locations are specific to areas found around town, while some are as simple as “Fancy Restaurant”. The current categories available while searching for a job include Software Development, Art, Service, Music, Education, Management, Maintenance, Healthcare, Science, Fitness, and Food.
Relationships
Relationships in the early access version of the Paralives Live Mode progress based on the moods of Paralives, their traits and compatibility, and the actions chosen as well as the success of those actions. Actions and interactions can have a certain mood or vibe attached to them, indicated by the color of the card; White seems to be standard or neutral, Green is positive, Red is negative, Gold is happy/friendly, and pink is Flirty. Certain actions come with percentages to indicate their chance of success, and a meter will pop up to show the result of your Paras interaction and how it progressed the together bar and the overall relationship.
Paras can also easily do activities as a group, by highlighting all the Paras you would like to move in a conversation and giving them an activity to do. They will walk to areas together to continue chatting, do interactions together, and take turns performing single para activities.
The Together Bar shows the progress in a conversation and relationship, takes roughly 25 minutes in-game to fill up, and allows you to Develop a para’s conversation with another and sway them towards becoming friends, enemies, or even lovers.
The New Paper
The New Paper is a daily newspaper and overall update for your Para. Appearing at the beginning of every day while in the Paralives Live Mode, it will announce news around town, provide insight for opportunities available around town, and leave quotes from residents and the mayor, Mayor Bloomberg. When reviewing newspapers, you can also select from the left side and review previous newspaper copies in case you missed something earlier.
Are there any features you’re excited to dive into that were covered in the Paralives Live Mode livestream, or anything you want to see more of? Let us know! Make sure to follow The Sims Community for more upcoming news of Paralives and its early access release, as well as the Paralives Development Team for more details of their timeline and the background creation of Paralives!
